The Back Row Baptists – Broken Hearts & Bad Decisions

Release Date: 2010
Highlights: By and By, Alright by Me, There You Are, Wreck On The Highway, Jazz Funeral

June 23, 2010

Birmingham, Alabama’s Back Row Baptists have found a way to capture physical elements of living in the south and put into a collection of songs called “Broken Hearts & Bad Decisions.”  Just listening to this band you can feel the muggy, humid southern air.  There’s something about a band like these folks that make you think twice and I’ll tell you why.  I’ve heard some really crappy “faux southern” bands over the years (aka. The Eagles) that managed to take the Southern mentality and strip it of all that is unique and real.  When I first listened to this album, the first thing I thought was “They better be for real!”  Well, the Back Row Baptists are without a doubt the Real McKoy.

“Broken Hearts & Bad Decisions” plays like scenes from a play as it covers many different moods and aspects of Southern living.  I felt like the album started off with more of a pop than a bang with the song “Wood & Steel.”  I thought this song was pretty cheesy and in all honesty just about turned me away from the album but I’m really glad I hung around because what followed were some true gems.  “By and By” was a true testament to living in the moment as they sing “Don’t be scared to raise some hell and don’t be afraid to cry, by and by lord, by and by” as the band shuffles through their best 2^nd Line type groove that as all the grit and attitude of  New Orleans march.

“Alright By Me”, sung by Sarah Green literally had me sinking into my chair.  Now I don’t believe in angels but I’d have to say that if they did exist, I bet they sound just like this song as it is one of the most beautiful pieces of southern Americana I’ve heard in my life.  The trickle of that mandolin and that high lonesome sound of the fiddle make this song feel like a warm blanket on a winter’s day.  “Wreck On The Highway” also had this effect on me which was a beautiful southern piano gospel tinged song that was full of emotion and heartache.

The songs are all balanced out by the vocals of both Sarah Green and Chris Porter.  Porter’s songs tend to be whiskey soaked backhanded gospel tracks while Green’s songs seem to be more of the heartbroken, high lonesome ballads.  This is what really makes the title of the album make sense.  Green is the “Broken Hearts” and Porter is the “Bad Decisions.”

This album has so much character and it is very easy on the ears.   It very well could’ve worn out its welcome but because of the dynamics of the “Broken Hearts” and “Bad Decisions” the album has a fantastic flow and is a great collection of songwriting.  It’s nothing new or original but it is solid and should find a nice home for people that like their music hot, muggy and a bit tongue in cheek.

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